Dear Mr McDonald,

 

I refer to your email of 15 November 2019. Plagiarism incidents cannot be
broken down by ethnicity, and the other documents requested about
plagiarism cannot be provided, without substantial collation or research.
Your request is refused under section 18(f) of the Official Information
Act. It is not possible to respond to vague, unsubstantiated and anecdotal
allegations of racism, except to note that the University is committed to
promoting an enabling and inclusive environment where all individuals are
treated with dignity and respect, free from harassment, bullying and
discrimination. If a member of the University believes that they have been
subject to discrimination, they should raise this under the University’s
Addressing Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination Policy and Procedures
so that this can be resolved. Any concerns about natural justice in the
student discipline process specifically can be raised through the relevant
review process set out in the University’s Student Academic Conduct
Statute.

Yours sincerely

Rebecca Ewert

General Counsel

University of Auckland

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Sam McDonald <[1][FOI #11656 email]>
Sent: Friday, 15 November 2019 11:00 AM
To: legal <[2][email address]>
Subject: Re: Official Information request - Plagiarism and racism

 

Dear University of Auckland,

 

Kia ora anō,

 

Sorry an amendment to my request and it should read as follows:

 

Kia ora,

 

It has come to my attention that there has been a significant degree of
racism when assessing decisions of plagiarism at the University of
Auckland.

 

Anecdotally I am informed that a recent assignment had a large number of
students punished, and all the non Pākehā/European students were
sanctioned, whereas none of the Pākehā/European students were sanctioned.

 

Accordingly, under the OIA I request:

 

1. In the 2019 Academic year a breakdown of all incidents of plagiarism,
with a break down on the number of incidents, how each of the individual
incidents were dealt with and the ethnic background of each person found
to have plagiarised, and what sanction each of these students received -
names can be redacted according to s9(2)(a) to protect privacy.

2. All correspondence, memos, text, phone calls, papers, emails in
relation to issues of plagiarism. Including notification by relevant staff
to the University, and any comments, views, opinions about the decision on
how students should, or should not be punished by academic staff, students
and any other relevant staff.

 

Ngā mihi

 

Sam McDonald

Enrolled Barrister & Solicitor

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Sam McDonald

 

 

 

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